Tape cassette

ABSTRACT

A tape cassette capable of preventing detachment of a lid structure from a casing and reducing a manufacturing cost thereof while being simplified in structure. A lid structure including a front lid, an upper lid and a rear lid is arranged in a manner to open and close with respect to a casing including an upper casing member and a lower casing member. The rear lid is provided on opposite sides thereof with a pair of guide pins, which are movably fitted in guide grooves of the lower casing member, respectively. The rear lid is formed with projections, which are abutted against an upper end of the front lid when the rear lid upwardly opens in association with the front lid, resulting in disengagement of the guide pins from the guide grooves being prevented.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a tape cassette such as a digital videocassette, an 8 mm video cassette or the like in which a tape-like recordmedium such as a magnetic tape or the like is received, and moreparticularly to a tape cassette which is suitable for use for arecording/regenerating apparatus, in particular, a magneticrecording/regenerating apparatus such as, for example, a video taperecorder (VTR) and includes a lid structure for covering front, rear andupper surfaces of a tape-like record medium (hereinafter also referredto as "tape").

A tape cassette of such a type which has been conventionally used in theart often includes a lid structure which includes an upper lid forcovering an upper surface of portion of a tape traveling along a frontopening of a cassette casing and front and rear lids for covering frontand rear surfaces of the portion of the tape while interposing theportion of the tape therebetween, to thereby prevent adhesion of dust tothe tape, pollution of the tape by the fingers and damage to the tape.

For example, one conventional tape cassette of this type is constructedin such a manner as shown in FIG. 1. More particularly, the tapecassette includes a rear lid 26 provided with a pair of guide pins 26awhich are loosely fitted in respective guide grooves 36 formed at alower casing member 23b, to thereby permit the rear lid 26 to be guidedwhile being slid when it is opened in association with a front lid 24,resulting in a locus of movement of the rear lid 26 during opening ofthe lid being defined. Another conventional tape cassette is disclosedin Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3517/1995. The tape cassettedisclosed includes a cassette casing formed by joining an upper casingmember and a lower casing member to each other. The lower casing memberis provided with a pair of rear lid guide grooves and correspondinglythe upper casing member is provided with a pair of projections, so thatthe guide grooves are closed at an upper end thereof with theprojections, respectively.

In the conventional tape cassette shown in FIG. 1, the rear lid 26 isformed at an intermediate portion thereof with a recessed portion 26b bybending the portion for the purpose of reinforcing the rear lid 26.Unfortunately, when excessive force is undesirably applied to the rearlid 26 during opening of the rear lid, an upper end 24a of the front lid24 is caused to bite into the recessed portion 26b of the rear lid 26,leading to upward disengagement of the guide pins 26a from the guidegrooves 36. The tape cassette disclosed in Japanese Utility ModelPublication No. 3517/1995 eliminates the above-described disadvantageencountered with the tape cassette shown in FIG. 1. However, it requiresthat the front lid is formed on an inner surface thereof opposite toeach of the projections with a relief. Unfortunately, this causes a diefor molding the cassette casing to be complicated in structure andrenders a combination of a support shaft or pin of each of the lidsand/or a guide pin thereof with a pin support hole and/or a guide groovetroublesome. Also, it is apt to cause detachment of the shaft or pinfrom the hole or groove due to shock applied to the casing when it isdropped.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the foregoingdisadvantages of the prior art.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tapecassette which is capable of facilitating assembling thereofirrespective of the fact that a lid structure is constituted by lidmembers as many as three in number.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tape cassettewhich is capable of preventing a failure in operation of a lid structuredue to shock applied to the tape cassette when it is dropped.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a tapecassette which is capable of effectively preventing a lid structure frombeing detached from a casing during pivotal operation of the lidstructure or due to application of shock applied to the tape cassette bydropping thereof.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tapecassette which is capable of ensuring reinforcement of a lid structureand smooth operation thereof.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a tapecassette which is capable of exhibiting increased safety andreliability.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a tapecassette which is capable of reducing a manufacturing cost of the tapecassette while keeping a molding die for the tape cassette from beingcomplicated and simplifying the manufacturing.

In accordance with the present invention, a tape cassette is provided.The tape cassette includes a casing formed by joining an upper casingmember and a lower casing member to each other. The lower casing memberis provided with a pair of guide grooves. The tape cassette alsoincludes a pair of reel hubs rotatably received in the casing and havinga tape wound thereon so as to extend therebetween while being stretchedtherebetween. The tape travels between the reel hubs while being guidedalong a front side of the casing, to thereby be delivered from eitherone of the reel hubs and taken up on the other reel hub. The tapecassette further includes a lid structure arranged on the casing in amanner to open and close so as to permit the tape to be selectivelyexposed. The lid structure includes a front lid for covering a frontsurface of a portion of the tape guided along the front side of thecasing, an upper lid for covering an upper end of the portion of thetape and a rear lid for covering a rear surface of the portion of thetape. The rear lid is provided on opposite sides thereof with a pair ofguide pins movably fitted in the guide grooves of the lower casingmember, respectively. Also, the rear lid is constructed so as toupwardly open in association with movement of the front lid. Further,the rear lid is provided with at least one projection abutted against anend of an upper surface of the front lid when the rear lid upwardlyopens.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rear lid isprovided on an upper surface thereof with a recess, wherein the recessis formed on opposite sides thereof with ribs, respectively and theprojection is comprised of the ribs.

As described above, the tape cassette of the present invention is soconstructed that the rear lid is provided with at least one projectionabutted against an end of an upper surface of the front lid when therear lid upwardly opens. Such construction effectively prevents theguide pins from being upwardly disengaged or detached from the guidegrooves of the rear lid due to shock undesirably applied to the tapecassette by dropping thereof or the like while keeping a molding die forthe tape cassette from being complicated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of thepresent invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings; wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an essential part of aconventional tape cassette wherein a lid structure is kept open;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a tapecassette according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an essential part of thetape cassette shown in FIG. 2, wherein a lid structure is kept closed;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an essential part of thetape cassette shown in FIG. 2, wherein a lid structure is kept open; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a rear lid constituting a part of alid structure incorporated in the tape cassette of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Now, a tape cassette according to the present invention will bedescribed hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

Referring first to FIGS. 2 to 4, an embodiment of a tape cassetteaccording to the present invention is illustrated. A tape cassette ofthe illustrated embodiment is in the form of a digital video cassette.However, the tape cassette of the present invention is not limited tosuch a digital video cassette. The tape cassette of the illustratedembodiment includes a casing 3 formed by joining an upper casing member3a and a lower casing member 3b to each other. The lower casing member3b is provided with a pair of guide grooves 16 as shown in FIGS. 3 and4.

The tape cassette also includes a pair of reel hubs 2 rotatably receivedin the casing 3 and having a tape 1 wound thereon so as to extendtherebetween while being stretched therebetween. The casing 3 is formedon opposite lateral portions of a front side thereof with respectiveopenings, so that the tape may be guided so as to travel from either oneof the reels through one of the openings corresponding to the one reeland the other opening corresponding to the other reel while beingstretched therebetween. Thus, the tape 1 is arranged so as to travelbetween the reel hubs 2 while being stretchedly guided along the frontside of the casing 3, to thereby be delivered from either one of thereel hubs 2 and taken up on the other reel hub 2.

Also, the tape cassette of the illustrated embodiment includes a lidstructure for permitting the tape 1 to be selectively exposed from thecasing. In the illustrated embodiment, the lid structure includes afront lid 4 for covering a front surface of a portion of the tape 1guided along the front side of the casing 3, an upper lid 5 for coveringan upper end of the portion of the tape 1 and a rear lid 6 for coveringa rear surface of the portion of the tape 1. The lid structure isarranged on the casing in a manner to open and close, to therebyselectively expose a part of the tape from the casing 3. The front lid 4is provided thereon with a pair of support pins 4b and correspondinglythe upper casing member 3a is provided with a pair of support recesses7, so that the support pins 4b may be fitted in the respective supportrecesses 7 to pivotally connect the front lid 4 to the upper casingmember 3a. The upper lid 5 is provided thereon with a pair of supportpins 5a through which the upper lid 5 is pivotally supported on thefront lid 4. More particularly, the front lid 4 is formed with a pair ofpin support holes 10 in which the support pins 5a of the upper lid 5 areoperatively fitted to pivotally connect the upper lid 5 to the front lid4, respectively. Also, the upper casing member 3a is provided with apair of upper lid guide grooves 15 as shown in FIG. 3, in each of whicha corresponding one of a pair of guide pins 5c of the upper lid 5 isguided to permit the upper lid 5 to be rearwardly moved along an upperwall of the upper casing member 3a while being substantially in parallelwith the upper wall of the upper casing member 3a.

The rear lid 6 is provided with a pair of pins 6c and correspondinglythe upper lid 5 is provided with a pair of supports 5b, so that the pins6c are engagedly fitted in the respective supports 5b, resulting in therear lid 6 being operatively connected to the upper lid 5. Also, therear lid 6 is provided with a pair of guide pins 6a and correspondinglythe lower casing member 3b is formed with a pair of a rear lid guidegrooves 16, so that the guide pins 6a of the rear lid 6 are movablyfitted in the respective rear lid guide grooves 16 of the lower casingmember 3b, to thereby be guided therein.

The rear lid 6 is provided in proximity to opposite lateral ends thereofwith a pair of projections 6b in a manner to be positionally correspondto an upper end 4a of the front lid 4 when the lid structure is open asshown in FIG. 4. The projections 6b are abutted against the upper end 4aof the front lid 4, to thereby prevent each of the guide pins 6a of therear lid 6 from being disengaged from a corresponding one of the rearlid guide grooves 16. Thus, the rear lid 6 is arranged so as to open inassociation with movement of the front lid 4 and the rear lid 6 isconstructed so as to upwardly open in association with movement of thefront lid 4. Also, in the illustrated embodiment, the rear lid 6 may beprovided on an upper surface thereof with a recess. The recess may beformed on opposite sides thereof with ribs, which constitute theprojections of the rear lid 6.

In the illustrated embodiment, the projections 6b are arranged onopposite sides of the rear lid 6, respectively. However, the illustratedembodiment is not limited to such arrangement. The number of theprojections 6b arranged on the rear lid 6 may be increased depending ona size of the cassette or that of the lid structure. Also, theprojections 6b are preferably arranged substantially in a laterallysymmetric manner, resulting in the arrangement being satisfactorilybalanced. Further, the portion of the rear lid 6 on which theprojections 6b are provided is formed on an upper surface thereof with atriangle recess by bending the portion of the rear lid 6 in order toensure strength or rigidity of the rear lid as shown in FIG. 4.Alternatively, the surface may be formed into a flat shape, resulting inthe whole surface of the rear lid 6 being substantially flush or flat.Such construction results in the upper end 4a of the upper lid 4 beingabutted against the surface of the rear lid 6. This may cause athickness of the portion to be increased, leading to formation of a sinkmark, resulting in a deterioration in appearance of the rear lid. Such adisadvantage may be eliminated by making one or more recesses in a lowersurface of the rear lid to reduce a thickness of an unnecessary portionof the rear lid while ensuring strength of the rear lid due to provisionof ribs.

The front lid 4 is operatively associated with the upper lid 5 includingthe support pins 5a each supported on an upper edge of a correspondingone of opposite side walls of the front lid 4. Also, the front lid 4 isprovided on an inner surface of each of the side walls with theabove-described support pin 4b, through which the front lid 4 ispivotally mounted on the upper casing member 3a. Reference numeral 8designates a spring for constantly urging the front lid 4 in a directionin which it is closed. The upper lid 5 is pivotally connected throughthe supports 5b thereof to the rear lid 6. The upper lid 5 and rear lid6 are so arranged that the guide pins 5c and 6a are fitted in the guidegrooves 15 and 16 of the casing 3, respectively. This permits the upperlid 5 and rear lid 6 to open and close in association with each other.

In the illustrated embodiment, the upper casing member 3a is providedthereon with springs 9 for forcedly supporting the reel hubs 2. Also,the lower casing member 3b is provided with a lid lock 11, which issecurely mounted on the lower casing member 3b by means of a spring. Thelower casing member 3b is also provided with a spring-loaded reel brake12 and a reel brake lock 13, as well as a plug 14, an MIC detectionsection 17 and an optical cover 18.

As can be seen from the foregoing, the tape cassette of the presentinvention includes the lid structure constituted by the three lidmembers and constructed so as to selectively expose the tape from thecasing, wherein the rear lid is provided with the projections abuttedagainst the upper end of the front lid when the rear lid is upwardlyopen in association with the front lid. Such construction effectivelyprevents the lid structure from being detached or removed from thecasing during pivotal operation of the lid structure or due toapplication of shock to the tape cassette due to dropping thereof or thelike. Also, it ensures reinforcement of the rear lid and smoothoperation of the lid structure. Further, it permits an increase insafety and reliability of the tape cassette. In addition, it reduces amanufacturing cost of the tape cassette while keeping a molding die forthe tape cassette from being complicated and simplifying themanufacturing.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tape cassette comprising:a casing including anupper casing member and a lower casing member, said lower casing memberbeing provided with a pair of guide grooves; a pair of reel hubsrotatably received in said casing and having a tape wound thereon so asto extend therebetween while being streched therebetween, said tapetraveling between said reel hubs while being guided along a front sideof said casing, to thereby be delivered from either one of said reelhubs and taken up on the other reel hub; and a lid structure mounted onsaid casing in a manner to be moved between an opened state and a closedstate so as to permit said tape to be selectively exposed said lidstructure including a front lid for covering a front surface of aportion of said tape guided along said front side of said casing, anupper lid for covering an upper end of said portion of said tape and arear lid for covering a rear surface of said portion of said tape, saidfront lid, upper lid and rear lid being operatively connected to oneanother so as to move between said opened state and said closed state;said rear lid being provided on opposite sides thereof with a pair ofguide pins movably fitted in said guide grooves of said lower casingmember, respectively; said rear lid being upwardly moved to said openedstate in association with movement of said front lid; said rear lidbeing provided on an upper surface thereof with at least one projectionwhich is abutted against an upper end of said front lid when said rearlid is upwardly moved to said position where said lid structure isopened in association with said front lid; said at least one projectioncomprises a plurality of ribs, and wherein said rear lid is provided onsaid upper surface thereof with a recess, said recess being formed onopposite sides therof with said ribs.
 2. The tape cassette as defined inclaim 1, wherein said recess comprises a bent portion of said rear lidsection at an intermediate location of said rear lid.
 3. A tape cassettecomprising:a casing including an upper casing member and a lower casingmember, said lower casing member being provided with a pair of guidegrooves extending vertically; a pair of reel hubs rotatably received insaid casing and having a tape wound thereon so as to extend therebetweenwhile being stretched therebetween, said tape traveling between saidreel hubs while being guided along a front side of said casing, tothereby be delivered from either one of said reel hubs and taken up onthe other reel hubs; and a lid structure mounted on said casing in amanner to be moved between an opened state and a closed state so as topermit a portion of said tape guided along said front side of saidcasing to be selectively exposed, said lid structure including a frontlid pivotally supported on said casing; said front lid covering a frontsurface of said portion of said tape; and upper lid pivotally connectedto said front lid so as to be moved to a position where said lidstructure is opened in association with movement of said front lid; saidupper lid covering an upper end of said portion of said tape; and a rearlid being provided on opposite sides thereof with a pair of guide pinsmovably fitted in said guide grooves of said lower casing member,respectively, said rear lid being pivotally supported on said upper lidso as to be upwardly moved to position where said lid structure isopened in association with movement of said front lid; said rear lidcovering a rear surface of said portion of said tape; said front lid,upper lid and rear lid being operatively connected to one another so asto open and close said lid structure; said rear lid being provide on anupper surface thereof with at least one projection which is abuttedagainst an upper end of said front lid when said rear lid is upwardlymoved to said position where said lid structure is opened in associationwith said front lid; said rear lid including a bent part of a V-shapedin section at an intermediate portion thereof to form a recess on theupper surface thereof, said recess being formed on opposite sidesthereof with ribs, respectively, said projection being comprised of saidribs.